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Global Sumud Flotilla entering ‘danger area’ near Gaza
Reporting from the Global Sumud Flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea. The flotilla is about 370km (200 nautical miles) from Gaza.
We are now entering the area classified as the “danger area”, where everybody is expecting interception [by the Israeli navy] at any moment due to the Israeli threats.
The flotilla is still ongoing, and all the participants are still on board.
Israel has no grounds to intercept Gaza-bound aid ships, says lawyer joining flotilla
Croatian lawyer Morana Miljanovic, who is on board one of the flotilla ships, has warned that any Israeli efforts to intercept their vessels would be clearly illegal.
“Israel, under international law, has no right to intercept civilian vessels in international waters, nor does it have the right to do that in territorial waters,” she told Al Jazeera. “This is a matter of customary international law that applies to all states, no matter which conventions they have signed or not signed.
“The only grounds Israel could have to intercept would be if there might be a crime committed or a threat to a state, and that reasonable doubt needs to be on evidence,” Miljanovic added.
“There is no such evidence. The flotilla around us is carrying humanitarian aid. Therefore, this is a humanitarian flotilla, and diverse political motivations of its participants are irrelevant.”
Italy’s navy to quit Gaza flotilla as risk of Israeli attack looms
Italy’s Defence Ministry says its navy will stop following the international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza once it gets within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of the shore.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.
Once the convoy reaches the 150 nautical miles (278km) limit, the Italian frigate accompanying it will stop “as communicated several times in recent days”, the ministry said in a statement.
The ship will issue two warnings to activists, with the second and final one foreseen at about 00:00 GMT, when the flotilla is expected to get within the stated distance, the statement added.
An Italian spokesperson for the flotilla said that activists had been informed about the government’s plans to have the navy ship stop and turn back to avoid “a diplomatic incident” with Israel.
Italy and Spain deployed navy vessels last week to assist the flotilla, after it was hit by drones armed with stun grenades and irritants in international waters off Greece, but without any intention to engage militarily.
Brave brave Europe... Useless cunts. It was just for show, to appease the strikes at home, not to protect the flotilla with their own citizens on board.
